It seems like most people have had such sleepy newborns that fell asleep all the time. I had a very alert baby and people always commented about how he was always awake. He never fell asleep during a feeding and was a terrible sleeper. It will be interesting to see how different this LO is.
I was just reading yesterday that it's good to play with their feet or run your fingers up and down their back if they're sleepy eaters, but that it's even more effective if the father or someone else does it. Definitely will remember the cold washcloth trick if I end up with a snoozer.
It seems like most people have had such sleepy newborns that fell asleep all the time. I had a very alert baby and people always commented about how he was always awake. He never fell asleep during a feeding and was a terrible sleeper. It will be interesting to see how different this LO is.
Omg same. FX we get sleepy babies. I'm already exhausted/terrified thinking about it. DD use to just lie awake in the middle of the night. Not crying or anything just awake.
I've used the playrex ventair with both of my girls and they had no issue switching from bottle to breast.
@lrwardrop and @bacorrea DD1 was totally that "always awake" kid! She hardly ever slept. But there's hope for you! DD2 was (and still is) the complete opposite. She was an awesome sleeper!
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
I have a two part question. Has anyone else went out of town without baby around 12-14 weeks?
1.) So I know I'll have to build up a couple days worth for when I start back to work, but about a week or two after I start back to work we will be flying out on a Friday and won't be back until Sunday night. I'm wondering if there is a way to accomplish this without causing oversupply issues/foremilk imbalance. I kind of figured I will have to try to start pumping/storing milk basically as soon as possible and try to use the whole 12 weeks to build it up.
2.) second part: We are going to NYC and going to be going around site seeing/etc in the middle of July. I plan on pumping while there, if I lug around my pump/bag/cooler. Will an ice pack be able to keep the milk cold enough during the day? I'll then store it in a fridge (freezer would be ideal but I don't know that we will have one available) until we put pack it in a cooler to take home on the plane. Then I was planning on using that supply for the next couple days after since I won't really have an option to freeze it while in NYC.
Sorry for the novel I've been stressing a little about this trip. Fiance was so sweet and surprised me with it for Christmas since I've never been to NYC. He just didn't pick the smoothest timing when it comes to thinking about breastfeeding. In the end I know the trip will be amazing and the worst thing that could happen is we would have to supplement for a couple days with some formula. Def not the end of the world.
1) I think other people have mentioned how to start to build up a supply on here, but one way I have done it in the past that has worked well for me (not for everyone) is to get this really awesome product called the "milk saver" by milkies. You stick it around your non-feeding boob while you feed on the other side. When you get let-down, both sides will leak (this will likely happen a lot in the beginning -- massive leakage). While baby drinks the one side, the milk saver collects milk on the other side. I was able to get 1-2 oz at a time. You can combine and save these. The only caveat is that you'll be getting a lot of foremilk. But this way I got some stash without even having to pump.
If you are leaving the baby for a while, make sure you practice with the bottle pretty extensively before you go. You might also mix in a bit of formula while you are pumping to get a stash going, because that way you know there is a backup in case your stash is too small for while you're gone. FWIW, I traveled around 8 weeks by myself for #1 and did have plenty of stash by then for him. It worked out just fine. But he had been a hard-to-feed baby so we had been giving him bottles (eventually he took to the breast no problem though.)
2) If you are out and about you will be able to pump and keep the milk cool with an ice pack. You might want to get additional ice during the day while you're out to make sure it always remains cold in there. Store it in the hotel fridge while you're there. This is BETTER than a freezer. I repeat you do NOT want a freezer. When you freeze milk and thaw it (like what would happen on the flight home), you have 24 hours to use that no-longer-frozen milk before you're supposed to toss it. Not good if you're carrying back days' worth of milk. As I stated above, I traveled for a similar amount of time via plane and flew back with a similar amount of milk. I remember it was like 21 bags of 4-5oz each. Everything was useable. I froze them only after I got home.
@BeachMommy2B Agree with @kat81 about using a fridge but not a freezer while you are on vacation. Wanted to add that you should print out the TSA guidelines for traveling with breast milk in case you need to set a rogue TSA agent straight. No reason to mess with your milk and no limit to how much you can bring back. If you bring a cooler, dump out any ice (bags) right before security and refill on the other side at a restaurant. If you end up needing to pump in the airport and don't feel comfortable with doing it a time the gate under a cover there are more and more airports with lactation rooms or "pods" that are actually really nice.
@kat81 thanks for the info. I have read everthing about establishing s supply, but I figured I'll probably need more than 80 oz between going back to work and the 3 days away. And I think most of talked about getting s day or two built up. I guess no difference, just need to start sooner. I didn't think about the leaking from the other breast that is helpful!
@mdlorenz that's a good idea about printing out the TSA rules. I'll make sure to do that, because I would probably have a melt down if I worked hard during my entire trip to keep pumping and then they didn't let me take it because they didn't know about their own policy!
@BeachMommy2B I went through TSA with 80+ oz before. They bitched about having to hand screen the cooler but it wasn't a problem.
I have never lucked out and found a airport with a boob friendly area so I use the "family" restrooms. If you pull down the changing table you can generally lay out your pump and supplies there and still reach an outlet.
Thanks guys! @wombthereitis I'm planning on just taking a nursing cover and pumping in the gate area. No shame here, and I'd rather get the stink eye from strangers then have to sit in a smelly bathroom! lol luckily we have straight flights, but I think I'll still have to pump probably once between the amount of time on the plane and the waiting beforehand.
Thanks guys! @wombthereitis I'm planning on just taking a nursing cover and pumping in the gate area. No shame here, and I'd rather get the stink eye from strangers then have to sit in a smelly bathroom! lol luckily we have straight flights, but I think I'll still have to pump probably once between the amount of time on the plane and the waiting beforehand.
Oh boy and I appreciate you for this--I would do the same thing. It made me cringe to read @WombThereItIs suggest using a family restroom, because pumping takes a while and I RELY on those family restrooms to get everyone to go potty all at once while you're lugging around a huge amount of stuff. So much easier than taking multiple kids into the regular bathroom. BUT I'm not at ALL critical of the idea of using a family restroom to pump, because I think when you're nursing you should get a private space and if they don't provide the right kind of one (i.e. a lounge) then you should be able to use something like a family restroom rather than a cramped stall within the larger bathroom (and where everyone can hear the pump). But anyone who is willing to use a cover out in public, go ahead! I have done this before and it does weird people out (it's definitely considered sketchier / worse than feeding a baby), but I don't care. Deal with it, people.
@kat81 Finding a seat by an outlet at Reagan on a weekday is like finding a needle in a haystack and winning the lottery on the same day. I have traveled with a kid and stroller and luggage and I get that those bathrooms are at a premium but that is literally the only option there.
Most of the time I had to wait for it to become available because some 30 something dude wanted to take a private poop anyway.
@kat81 Finding a seat by an outlet at Reagan on a weekday is like finding a needle in a haystack and winning the lottery on the same day. I have traveled with a kid and stroller and luggage and I get that those bathrooms are at a premium but that is literally the only option there.
Most of the time I had to wait for it to become available because some 30 something dude wanted to take a private poop anyway.
My pump had a battery pack adapter, so you wouldn't need an outlet! I can't remember if I had maybe bought that separately or not. It was a lifesaver a couple of times when the power went out while I was at work!
I for one am not looking forward starting all this again. Trying to figure out a place/time to pump and storing milk... basically planning your day around pumping. (sorry to be a downer!) I am going to be savoring these last few months while I can!
I think we briefly talked about it before but is anyone getting or tried the freemie cups? seems like it would be handy for pumping on the go
Most of the time I had to wait for it to become available because some 30 something dude wanted to take a private poop anyway.
Oh these people get all the dagger eyes from me. Traveling with kids is a hassle enough, but when the family restroom is occupied by someone who doesn't actually need it I'm so annoyed. Same thing with the handicap restroom stall. Try taking a 5 year old, 2 year old, stroller and giant diaper bag into a tiny regular stall. Not like I can tell my 2 year old to stand outside of the stall by herself while I help the other one.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@kat81 Finding a seat by an outlet at Reagan on a weekday is like finding a needle in a haystack and winning the lottery on the same day. I have traveled with a kid and stroller and luggage and I get that those bathrooms are at a premium but that is literally the only option there.
Most of the time I had to wait for it to become available because some 30 something dude wanted to take a private poop anyway.
LOL, yes! I didn't even think of this because I had the medela freestyle so I didn't need an adapter; that thing held charge for a few days' worth of pumping. Yet another reason they need to have lounges! 'cause you can't even get an outlet in a random stall in a bathroom, either.
Luckily some random dude has never prevented us from the family restroom by taking a dump or anything, BUT it is true that sometimes you wait for these for a while because some KID is taking a long dump with his/her family or it's a big family with one parent who has to change diapers and deal with peeing/pooping from older kids, etc. But I still find it worth the wait (usually) because these rooms are awesome. Still, though, totally in support of them being used for pumping! We need lounges!
My baby dribbled out milk from the kiinde system nipples. The bags also do not correlate to medela bottles so you'll think you have a 4 Oz bag pour it into a bottle and baby gets 3.5 or something. The case they give isn't easy to hold either. I stopped trying to use the kiinde stuff very quick. At the Danbury mall ct they have a family bathroom w 4 large family toilet stalls w tiny toilets and adult sized toilet in each and sinks. There's a large couch 3 changing pad table areas and two closed door nursing rooms with electric plugs. I used it as a home base to pump from when I was out and about. I certainly saw some young kids using a big bathroom for a drug deal in my opinion I almost called security.
My grocery store has a family-sized stall in the women's restroom, and it has a toilet, sink, changing station, and lots of room and coat hooks. I thought it was pretty great but what that mall offers seems awesome!---drug deals notwithstanding
@BeachMommy2B if the hotel doesn't readily have refrigerators in their rooms, you can tell them you are a pumping mom and they typically provide one free of charge.
I also requested my milk did not go through the X-ray machine. TSA just carried it around the outside of the machines and handed it back to me.
I have to disagree @mdlorenz about only needing enough for one day and then pumping enough for the next day while at work. I totally thought it would work that way and so I didn't have much saved up when I finally went back to work. However, even though I never had supply issues while nursing I could never pump enough during the work day to match what my baby drank while we were away from each other. I went through my stored milk pretty quickly and ended up waking up at like 4:30 in the morning every morning to pump before DS woke up and pumping again at like 10:30 each night to make up the difference and even then it was barely enough. Some women are able to pump and get as much as they would if they were BFing, but I never was, not even close.
*lurking from June* I had the same problem. I didn't go back to work until DS was 5 months old, and I could never pump enough. I ended up having to supplement for daycare. This time, I will start pumping much earlier and build up as much of a stash as I can.
Married my best friend May 24, 2008
BFP #1 9/1/11, EDD 5/15/12, Missed M/C at 9w4d, discovered at 11w3d, D&C 11/2/11
BFP #2 6/20/12, Baby Boy born 3/2/13
BFP #3 October 2016, EDD 6/11/17
Bumping this thread. For SAHMs, did you find that you froze much milk? If you did, how much did you usually have in the freezer at a given time? What were the scenarios you'd need frozen milk for?
Bumping this thread. For SAHMs, did you find that you froze much milk? If you did, how much did you usually have in the freezer at a given time? What were the scenarios you'd need frozen milk for?
Date nights with a babysitter, times when I wanted to drink alcohol and not have to worry about how long it had been since I had a drink before feeding, out at a restaurant and it was easier to bottle feed, running errands and leaving baby with DH, and I used it when I started my girls on rice cereal to mix in.
I didn't have a huge stash, just maybe 20 bags in the freezer at a time. I have a friend who was a SAHM and she built up such a huge freezer stash that she stopped breastfeeding at around 7 months but still had enough milk to feed her baby past 1 year! That would be my ultimate goal but we foresee a possible cross country move next year and I wouldn't be able to take that much frozen milk with me.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
@starphish18 with my second breastfeeding was a much happier experience. I pumped until I had a wonderful supply. Eventually I got up to 300oz in the freezer and it was amazing. I stopped stocking up after that. I used it for purées when we started solids. Bottles if we were out without him or when I wanted more than one cocktail. It wasn't necessary to have so much. But I got excited because I never thought I'd have such a stash.
@hp_momma@mamatowildones Thanks! There's definitely going to be a learning curve for all this. It's kind of overwhelming, but I assume I'll learn as we go. Like, storing in fridge vs freezer, pumping to build up storage, etc.
As a SAHM I didnt really need to freeze much but I worked a short shift every Sunday so I always made sure there was milk available. And it was nice to have extra for a date night, alcohol or if I just reallllly needed a break from nursing.
@hp_momma@mamatowildones Thanks! There's definitely going to be a learning curve for all this. It's kind of overwhelming, but I assume I'll learn as we go. Like, storing in fridge vs freezer, pumping to build up storage, etc.
It is overwhelming but don't be too hard on yourself. Stress and dieting ruined my supply the first time around and I was all dried up before 2 months. With DS2 the only difference was that I relaxed, ate lots more calories, pumped a lot in the beginning to get my supply up, and fed baby more often and for longer than with my first.
Our pediatrician had us supplement with formula so I never felt like building a stash was worth the effort- I really hated pumping and when you do breast milk and formula you don't have to do the vitamin d drops. Win win as far as I'm concerned! I wouldn't stress about it- if it works out that you can easily add a pump session to build a supply up then great otherwise don't stress about it.
It's just vitamin D. It's maybe "controversial" basically babies who are only breastfed don't get any vitamin D through breast milk, so the research says. Therefore you have to give them a drop of vitamin D each day. On my last BMB a lot of moms didn't do this. They said they were outside enough, didn't agree with the pediatricians/research etc.
I think the most I had was 100 oz in the freezer, I always wanted more since that was only 5 feedings for us but it didn't happen. I could barely keep up with the demands of them to make much more.
ETA: I never used Vitamin D drops, but we started Poly Vi Sol in NICU and continued until DS had constipation that was crazy.
It's just vitamin D. It's maybe "controversial" basically babies who are only breastfed don't get any vitamin D through breast milk, so the research says. Therefore you have to give them a drop of vitamin D each day. On my last BMB a lot of moms didn't do this. They said they were outside enough, didn't agree with the pediatricians/research etc.
This. I did it and other EBF mamas I knew did it. I trusted my pedi. We talked about how often we were outside. Which is a lot! And he still advocated for it.
I mostly hated them because my son would spit them back into my face! It was a side benefit of supplementing I just didn't realize until I had to start for him to gain more weight. My pediatrician had told me we had to do the Di Vi Sol I think it was called.
PS also regarding freezing this might have been mentioned but sometimes the milk has too much lipase and tastes bad after being frozen. That happened to a friend of mine and she decided to just never leave her baby for the first year. It was tough.
I had a large freezer stash and my goal was to build up enough so that I could stop pumping and have enough to last baby past the 1 year, which I did. Luckily I had a large freezer stash because I got gallstones/pancreatitis and had to have my gall bladder removed unexpected. I was in the hospital for 5 days and due to pain medication and getting anesthesia twice I couldn't use my milk. While I was in the hospital and a couple days after I got home I pumped and dumped and baby was able to use my freezer stash.
Several quick things: 1) @starphish18 -- Check out Kellymom for good basic BFing info. Try not to stress about too much right now but know who/what your resources are (hospital LCs, community-based LCs, quality websites, etc)
2) Lipase does make milk soapy tasting but not every baby cares. So it can be a non-issue. Or a big deal.
3) Vitamin D is important for babies starting after birth. You can either give drops (some brands require a whole milliliter of liquid to get the right dose and others provide it in a single drop) or you can take 6400 units daily to get enough in your milk to meet baby's needs. There was a recent journal article (from the journal Pediatrics I think) about this.
With DD1 I did vitamin D drops for a few weeks but then stopped. We lived in Arizona and were outside every single day and it's sunny 99% of the time. My pediatrician didn't stress it too much at that time.
With DD2 she was a spring Texas baby and I did vitamin D drops because it was not nearly as sunny.
Wirh this LO I will DEFINITELY be doing the drops. We live in Washington and the amount of sun we get is minimal. I'm sure my vitamin D levels have dropped so I know his will be low as well.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Somehow I missed the information about Vitamin D drops and our pediatrician never told us. I discovered right after DD turned 1. I'm still miffed by this. She seems fine, but I'd rather follow current recommendations.
One other pumping/BFing recommendation is to make sure you aren't overfeeding. Most babies take less BM than they would formula. DD never exceeded a 5 oz bottle of BM in one serving at daycare (when she took bottles). I do know kids who have taken more than that in a feeding. That's why it's important to feed BM using the newborn slow flow nipples. I don't think we ever moved up in the nipples. It helps pace the feeding so baby isn't overeating. Not that your kid should only take 5 oz, some kids do take more.
@starphish18 - I pumped pretty much every morning after the first morning feeding from the time DD was 4 weeks old until she turned 7 months old so for a solid 6 months. Initially I did it to protect my supply because I had to supplement 2-4 oz everyday with DS as long as I breastfed him. I didn't know at the time about the ability to increase supply through power pumping and even though 2-4 oz is not a lot, it stressed me out that I didn't produce enough for the whole day.
With DD, I would store 4-5 oz everyday from my pumping session and it actually came in quite handy because I was one of the unlucky ones that still got her period even though I was EBF and during 3 days of my period I would have a dip in supply. Those days I would store 0-3 oz and a couple of times I had to dip into my supply to meet DD's needs. I also had a dip in supply once I got on the mini pill and had to power pump to bring my supply up.
I actually ended up with a good sized freezer stash, probably between 750-800 oz. I didn't bf for the entire year because I went on the regular bc pill and that dried me up (I use the bc pill to make my cycles regular and my body ready to start TTC) so I used about 300 oz to give DD some milk everyday up until she was a year. I had planned to give DD all of it but I had a SIL who had a baby and couldn't bf past her hospital stay so I donated most of my milk stash to her.
If you are planning on bf'ing for the entire year or beyond and only use the bm occasionally, you can pump for as little or as long as you want to build a stash that you are happy with. If you want to build a stash, I would definitely start no later than when baby is 6-8 weeks old so that you milk won't have regulated yet, and then go as many weeks or months as you feel is needed.
Me: 38 DH: 36 Married 8/27/2011 BFP #1 9/28/2011 DS born 5/22/2012 BFP #2 4/24/2013 m/c 4/25/2013 at 4w BFP #3 1/31/2014 DD born 10/14/2014 BFP #4 1/20/2016 m/c 2/12/2014 at 7w2d BFP #5 8/19/2016 DS2 born 4/29/2017 BFP #6 3/7/2018 EDD 11/18/2018
Bumping this thread. For SAHMs, did you find that you froze much milk? If you did, how much did you usually have in the freezer at a given time? What were the scenarios you'd need frozen milk for?
I'm not a SAHM but I think the most I had was about 200 oz or so. I think it's not necessary to have a big stash. You can always use formula if needed. If you actively try to build a stash you run the risk of having oversupply issues. Also you run out of freezer space and it's sadder if something happens to your supply. AND you need to "rotate" your supply more (use the frozen milk and freeze some new milk) because frozen milk doesn't last forever.
Another question. All the sample bottles I have gotten have #1 nipples. Is that the slowest? Is there a newborn flow that's slower? Or does it depend on the bottle/brand?
Re: Breastfeeding--Comments, Questions, Thoughts...
Definitely will remember the cold washcloth trick if I end up with a snoozer.
just lie awake in the middle of the night. Not crying or anything just awake.
@lrwardrop and @bacorrea DD1 was totally that "always awake" kid! She hardly ever slept. But there's hope for you! DD2 was (and still is) the complete opposite. She was an awesome sleeper!
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
1) I think other people have mentioned how to start to build up a supply on here, but one way I have done it in the past that has worked well for me (not for everyone) is to get this really awesome product called the "milk saver" by milkies. You stick it around your non-feeding boob while you feed on the other side. When you get let-down, both sides will leak (this will likely happen a lot in the beginning -- massive leakage). While baby drinks the one side, the milk saver collects milk on the other side. I was able to get 1-2 oz at a time. You can combine and save these. The only caveat is that you'll be getting a lot of foremilk. But this way I got some stash without even having to pump.
If you are leaving the baby for a while, make sure you practice with the bottle pretty extensively before you go. You might also mix in a bit of formula while you are pumping to get a stash going, because that way you know there is a backup in case your stash is too small for while you're gone. FWIW, I traveled around 8 weeks by myself for #1 and did have plenty of stash by then for him. It worked out just fine. But he had been a hard-to-feed baby so we had been giving him bottles (eventually he took to the breast no problem though.)
2) If you are out and about you will be able to pump and keep the milk cool with an ice pack. You might want to get additional ice during the day while you're out to make sure it always remains cold in there. Store it in the hotel fridge while you're there. This is BETTER than a freezer. I repeat you do NOT want a freezer. When you freeze milk and thaw it (like what would happen on the flight home), you have 24 hours to use that no-longer-frozen milk before you're supposed to toss it. Not good if you're carrying back days' worth of milk. As I stated above, I traveled for a similar amount of time via plane and flew back with a similar amount of milk. I remember it was like 21 bags of 4-5oz each. Everything was useable. I froze them only after I got home.
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@mdlorenz that's a good idea about printing out the TSA rules. I'll make sure to do that, because I would probably have a melt down if I worked hard during my entire trip to keep pumping and then they didn't let me take it because they didn't know about their own policy!
I have never lucked out and found a airport with a boob friendly area so I use the "family" restrooms. If you pull down the changing table you can generally lay out your pump and supplies there and still reach an outlet.
May '17 labor memes
Most of the time I had to wait for it to become available because some 30 something dude wanted to take a private poop anyway.
May '17 labor memes
I for one am not looking forward starting all this again. Trying to figure out a place/time to pump and storing milk... basically planning your day around pumping. (sorry to be a downer!) I am going to be savoring these last few months while I can!
I think we briefly talked about it before but is anyone getting or tried the freemie cups? seems like it would be handy for pumping on the go
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Luckily some random dude has never prevented us from the family restroom by taking a dump or anything, BUT it is true that sometimes you wait for these for a while because some KID is taking a long dump with his/her family or it's a big family with one parent who has to change diapers and deal with peeing/pooping from older kids, etc. But I still find it worth the wait (usually) because these rooms are awesome. Still, though, totally in support of them being used for pumping! We need lounges!
At the Danbury mall ct they have a family bathroom w 4 large family toilet stalls w tiny toilets and adult sized toilet in each and sinks. There's a large couch 3 changing pad table areas and two closed door nursing rooms with electric plugs. I used it as a home base to pump from when I was out and about. I certainly saw some young kids using a big bathroom for a drug deal in my opinion I almost called security.
I also requested my milk did not go through the X-ray machine. TSA just carried it around the outside of the machines and handed it back to me.
BFP #1 9/1/11, EDD 5/15/12, Missed M/C at 9w4d, discovered at 11w3d, D&C 11/2/11
BFP #2 6/20/12, Baby Boy born 3/2/13
BFP #3 October 2016, EDD 6/11/17
I didn't have a huge stash, just maybe 20 bags in the freezer at a time. I have a friend who was a SAHM and she built up such a huge freezer stash that she stopped breastfeeding at around 7 months but still had enough milk to feed her baby past 1 year! That would be my ultimate goal but we foresee a possible cross country move next year and I wouldn't be able to take that much frozen milk with me.
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
I didn't freeze any milk @starphish18
I'm not an expert. We did it though. Hmmm who would know more? @pshaortao @WombThereItIs @hp_momma
ETA: I never used Vitamin D drops, but we started Poly Vi Sol in NICU and continued until DS had constipation that was crazy.
1/7/2015 Twins born @ 34 weeks
me we had to do the Di Vi Sol I think it was called.
1) @starphish18 -- Check out Kellymom for good basic BFing info. Try not to stress about too much right now but know who/what your resources are (hospital LCs, community-based LCs, quality websites, etc)
2) Lipase does make milk soapy tasting but not every baby cares. So it can be a non-issue. Or a big deal.
3) Vitamin D is important for babies starting after birth. You can either give drops (some brands require a whole milliliter of liquid to get the right dose and others provide it in a single drop) or you can take 6400 units daily to get enough in your milk to meet baby's needs. There was a recent journal article (from the journal Pediatrics I think) about this.
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With DD2 she was a spring Texas baby and I did vitamin D drops because it was not nearly as sunny.
Wirh this LO I will DEFINITELY be doing the drops. We live in Washington and the amount of sun we get is minimal. I'm sure my vitamin D levels have dropped so I know his will be low as well.
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
One other pumping/BFing recommendation is to make sure you aren't overfeeding. Most babies take less BM than they would formula. DD never exceeded a 5 oz bottle of BM in one serving at daycare (when she took bottles). I do know kids who have taken more than that in a feeding. That's why it's important to feed BM using the newborn slow flow nipples. I don't think we ever moved up in the nipples. It helps pace the feeding so baby isn't overeating. Not that your kid should only take 5 oz, some kids do take more.
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
With DD, I would store 4-5 oz everyday from my pumping session and it actually came in quite handy because I was one of the unlucky ones that still got her period even though I was EBF and during 3 days of my period I would have a dip in supply. Those days I would store 0-3 oz and a couple of times I had to dip into my supply to meet DD's needs. I also had a dip in supply once I got on the mini pill and had to power pump to bring my supply up.
I actually ended up with a good sized freezer stash, probably between 750-800 oz. I didn't bf for the entire year because I went on the regular bc pill and that dried me up (I use the bc pill to make my cycles regular and my body ready to start TTC) so I used about 300 oz to give DD some milk everyday up until she was a year. I had planned to give DD all of it but I had a SIL who had a baby and couldn't bf past her hospital stay so I donated most of my milk stash to her.
If you are planning on bf'ing for the entire year or beyond and only use the bm occasionally, you can pump for as little or as long as you want to build a stash that you are happy with. If you want to build a stash, I would definitely start no later than when baby is 6-8 weeks old so that you milk won't have regulated yet, and then go as many weeks or months as you feel is needed.
Married 8/27/2011
BFP #1 9/28/2011 DS born 5/22/2012
BFP #2 4/24/2013 m/c 4/25/2013 at 4w
BFP #3 1/31/2014 DD born 10/14/2014
BFP #4 1/20/2016 m/c 2/12/2014 at 7w2d
BFP #5 8/19/2016 DS2 born 4/29/2017
BFP #6 3/7/2018 EDD 11/18/2018